This invention relates generally to golf putting aids and more particularly to simple and effective devices for increasing the accuracy of a golfer during the putting operation.
Putting is a very important part of the game of golf. Accurate putters are able to “read” the greens to determine conditions that will affect the roll of the golf ball toward the golf hole. Important conditions that affect the roll of the golf ball include the slope and topography of the path to the golf hole, the grass used on the putting surface, the condition of the grass (e.g. any bare spots), whether and in what direction the blades of grass are laying down, and whether and to what extent the grass is wet thus slowing down the roll of the golf ball. Other important aspects of putting include the distance to the hole and an estimate of how hard to strike the ball, and in what direction, given the conditions of the putt. For this later task, a golfer must correctly read the green to determine speed, topography, grain of the grass, moisture, etc. and determine where to aim, e.g. the initial direction where to start the ball rolling, not necessarily the golf hole but possibly left or right of the hole. The golfer must then align the putter so that the putter face is square to the initial putting direction. Finally, the golfer must execute the correct putting stroke whereby the putter travels parallel to the intended target (e.g. not coming from the outside or inside), the putter travels at the correct speed at impact, and the putter face is square at impact. The current invention assists with proper club alignment to accomplish this later task.
Given the low friction between the golf ball and the putter striking face, a struck golf ball generally travels perpendicular to the plane of the striking face of the club. It is therefore very important to line up the putter head with the golf ball with great precision so that the struck golf ball travels in the desired direction at the desired speed. Various methods have been developed to assist the golfer in lining up his putter with the golf ball including placing alignment marks on the top of the putter head directly behind the golf ball and marks or images in a structure behind the striking part of the club head. Not only are these methods getting more complicated, but are nearly impossible to retrofit onto an existing putter.
A need exists, therefore, for alternate means and structures that allow a golfer to align the club with marks placed on the golf ball itself where such means and structures may be retrofitted on to existing clubs.